Graphic excels at Ashanti GJA Awards

The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, has challenged journalists in the country to contribute to the development of the country by safeguarding the peace of the country.

He said journalists had an obligation to play their roles well so that “when the history of this country is written, journalism will not be an appendage of any other chapter, but journalism will be a chapter of its own”.

While admitting that it would be impossible to have all practitioners adhering to the ethics of the profession, he said there was the need for the majority to ensure that “we do not allow those who go into the mud to smear us with the dirt they carry from the mud.

That must be the pledge of each one of us”.

 Emmanuel Baah (left) and Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor displaying their awards

Experts

Speaking at the Ashanti Regional Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards Night last Friday, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh also entreated the media, particularly the radio stations, to endeavour to engage experts on issues instead of the usual political activists during radio discussions.

According to him, apart from their usual blame games, politicians had little to offer listeners, and, therefore, using experts would help in educating the audience on topical issues.

He asked the media in the region to partner the assemblies to fight for environmental sanitation by educating the public on the dangers of indiscriminate disposal of waste.

He said it was only when the public accepted that it had an obligation in the sustainable management of the environment that it would contribute meaningfully to resolving the problem.

  Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh

GJA

The National President of GJA, Mr R. Affail Monney, commended the regional branch for organising the awards night to recognise its members for their hard work.

He said activities planned for the 70th anniversary of the association would be decentralised to the regions to afford members based outside Accra to also have a feel of the celebration.

According to him, the celebration would re-examine the role of the media in the development of the country “to take a hard look at our profession, how far we have come, what are our flaws and how to fix those flaws”.

That, he added, would be done through a media summit for experts and practitioners.

He said the foremost agenda was to have the media redirect its focus on social issues and reduce the attention on political issues.

“As journalists, it is time that we used our profession to fix and cure social ills to ensure that our nation, Ghana, develops at a faster rate than we are experiencing now,” he said.

Winners

Mr Kingsley E. Hope, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, said the entries for the awards were of excellent quality and an indication of the wealth of knowledge of practitioners in the region.

He was grateful to the sponsors, Asanko Gold, Kuapa Cocoa and Miklin Hotel, for supporting the awards night.

In all, 22 journalists, with only one female, were awarded for their work.

Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) picked up four out of the 23 awards, with Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor and Emmanuel Baah, picking up two awards each.

Mr Baah won both the Feature (print) and Photojournalist of the Year awards, while Mr Donkor picked the Education and Entertainment awards.

Mr Donkor was also awarded a certificate for placing second in the Sports and Court crime Reporting category, with Mr Daniel K. Kenu also picking a certificate for placing second in the News Reporting category.

Mr Prince Appiah of Luv FM picked the Best Journalist Award in addition to three other awards.

Ms Beatrice Spio-Garbrah of TV3 walked away with the Best in Health and HIV-AIDS reporting.

Special awards

Special awards were presented to some individuals for their pioneering roles and support in the development of journalism in the region.

They included the Editor of the Pioneer, Mr Johnson Gyampoh; the Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency, Mrs Elisabeth Kankam-Boadu; the Deputy Editor of the Ghanaian Chronicle, Mr Sebastian R. Freiku; the Northern Bureau Chief of the Media General, Mr Kofi Adu Domfeh, and the News Editor at both the Nhyira FM and the Luv FM, Mr Saeed Ali Yaqub.

Mr Ivan Korshie Heathcote Fumador of the EIB Network, a visually impaired practitioner who had picked up two awards earlier, was also given a citation for his resilience and hard work.